Solar Panel Inverter

In theory if they are 12 volt panels you would run them as six parallel sets of 10 in a series giving you a theoretical output of 120 VDC 63 amps and 7.5 KWH.

To get the 6 hours of runtime on a 6 KW load you would need to have a battery bank of 36 KWh or roughly 300 amp hours capacity at 120 volts.

Now in reality factoring typical system losses and not running your battery set below 1/3 of full charge you would need a battery bank of around 450 AH at 120 volts assuming that the solar panels are not supplying any power while the system is loaded.

Personally this sounds rather expensive.

I think the number of questions like these that show up here is a problem for "Engineering" in the professional sense, but begs for a separate forum for free flowing answers that are not strictly "code". Many people around the globe are finding themselves in a position that requires knowledge they do not have and don't have the first clue how to get, yet, their livelihood and the livelihood of their village demands solutions.

I would like to see a CR4 forum for this type of question. A place where we can bounce a question over too where the rules are less technically or legally binding. I would like to see a At your own risk or AYOR forum that would allow us to post unconventional answers to difficult by-the-seat-of-your-pants solutions for our friends around the world with long distances and no budget.

It is not that the strict code based answers are wrong, it's that they leave no room for the guy who just needs a fix that will get the gen-set up again for a while so the locals can go to school or get their work done. Not all people have access to 24/7 phone and power and with all the knowledge and expertise available here it seems a bit of a waste to not be able to apply some of it with "the gloves off" if you know what I mean.

I know this is a bit off topic, but I would really like to see more of these questions get answers other than "call the manufacturer" or "hire an expert". Safety must be stressed, but in some of these situations and places the "proper" must be balanced with the need and expediency. I have lived in poor conditions away from civil society and there were many times when a good solution that was not "code" was just the thing to get us through current difficulty.

/rant